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Battle an Alien Horde at Sea

By Gregory Schmidt May 23, 2012 4:20 pmMay 23, 2012 4:20 pm

The Battleship app has been updated to include alien ships that are deployed on one-half of the digital board.

“Battleship” may be sinking at the box office, but you can still put on your captain’s hat and duel with alien warships at sea with a movie-inspired version of the Battleship iPhone app from Electronic Arts.

The movie version has been updated to include alien ships that are deployed on one-half of the digital board, which looks similar to the physical board game from Hasbro. The alien crafts also show up in the cut-away scenes that appear when a ship is hit or sunk, adding an extra bit of flair to the game. And best of all, the updated app is free.

But as you probably already know, nothing in life is really free. The movie version of the app is supported by ads. And not just the typical strip ads that appear across the bottom of your iPhone screen and are easy to ignore. This app includes pop-up ads between every round, and boy, can they be obtrusive. “You sank my battle . . . ‘sponsored by Adidas‘ . . . ship!”

The free app has fewer play options than the paid version (which costs 99 cents for the iPhone and $1.99 for the iPad). Missing is the classic mode of play, in which players fire only a single shot per turn. Instead, players fire a salvo of up to five rounds in each turn, which helps move the game along much faster. But the super weapons, which allow for attacks from air strikes, sea mines, frag bombs and an arsenal of other weapons, are also missing in the free version. I found that disappointing, because the super weapons add an extra layer of strategy to the game.

The movie app still allows for multiple player modes, allowing you to challenge a friend by syncing two iPhones via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or by passing one iPhone back and forth.

The movie version of Battleship has some great graphics for a free app, but in this case, less is not more. Spend 99 cents and treat yourself to the classic version.

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